Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Tablets : Linear B tablet [Π-Ν97]

Writing in Ancient Crete ➔ Linear B tablet

Π-Ν97

Clay

Mended with chips in various places.

Height: 12.6 cm. Maximum width: 6.7 cm. Thickness: 1.3 cm.

Knossos

Palace

Late Bronze Age. Final Palatial period, Late Minoan IΙΙA2 period.:

1375-1300 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Final Palatial period (1450-1300 BC). The Knossos monopalatial system

Economy and administration. Linear B script. Religion and cult.

Description

Page tablet F(p) 1 is one of the most important tablets from the palace of Knossos, as it refers to the pantheon of deities worshipped in the 14th century BC. It records offerings of quantities of olive oil, sent in the month of “Deukios” to major and minor gods and the “Priestess of the Winds”, the most important member of the Knossian priesthood. It also contains the striking expression “to all the gods” and Dictaean Zeus, Erinys and the deities pa-de and qe-ra-si-ja, who were probably of Minoan origin. The three destinations of the offerings, which were probably associated with places of worship, include the word “Daedaleion-de”. This may indicate a temple or sanctuary dedicated to a pre-Hellenic cult which survived into the 14th century BC. The probable connection of this cult with Daedalus is reinforced by other Knossian tablets recording the word “Labyrinth”, known from historical sources of the Roman era, in its Mycenaean version. A typical accounting list, like all the Linear B tablets, this tablet concludes with the total quantity of olive oil distributed.

Bibliography:

Chadwick, J., L. Godart, J.T. Killen, J.P. Olivier, A. Sacconi, I.A. Sakellarakis. Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Knossos, Volume I (1-1063). Cambridge University Press- Edizioni dell’Ateneo, Rome, 1986, 1 (tablet Fp(1) 1). Gulizio, J. and D. Nakassis. "The Minoan Goddess(es): Textual Evidence for Minoan Religion." In D. Nakassis, J. Gulizio, and S.A. James (eds), KE-RA-ME-JA. Studies Presented to Cynthia W. Shelmerdine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2014, 115-28. Judson, A.P. "The Mystery of the Mycenaean ‘Labyrinth’: the Value of Linear B Pu2 and Related Signs", Studi Micenei ed Egeoanatolici N.S. 3, 53-72. Montecchi, B. Luoghi per lavorare, pregare, morire. Edifici e maestranze edili negli interessi delle ?lites micenee, Firenze University Press, 38-39. Rizza, G. "Dedalo e le origini della scultura greca." Creta Antica 16, 203-37. Melena, J.L. Οι Μυκηναίοι Έλληνες (trans. Melina Panagiotidou). Athens, 1996, 244.

Author:

G. F.

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